Many of your readers will be aware of the Make Poverty History campaign which has been running this year. The Live 8 concert in the summer did a lot to draw everyone's attention to it in the run up to the G8 summit in Gleneagles. A lot of us bought white wristbands to show our support.

October 24 is the start of One World Week, a time when campaigning groups draw attention to the plight of the developing world. The theme for this year is "promises, promises".

At the summit, the world leaders made a lot of promises but sadly these have come to nothing. Only 18 of the world's poorest countries will immediately receive any benefit from the G8's debt relief plans. This is not nearly enough as there are 60 countries that desperately need their debts cancelled.

Worse still, in order to get debt relief, countries are forced to put in place economic policies such as free trade which often increase poverty. Sierra Leone, officially the world's poorest country, is being made to privatise its water system to get debt relief.

Our Government received a lot of praise for its promises on Africa, but the truth is that so far little has been delivered. Your readers should know that they cannot yet throw away their white bands because the situation for the majority of people in the developing world has not improved at all.